Quote from: Another Mom on Yesterday at 06:48:30 AMWashington and Lee 5 - 0 Mary Washington.

Glad to see the scoring come from a number of different players too.

Yes. 3 of the goals from freshman, 2 from a junior. Jenkins getting 2 assists feels right also. If they can establish an offensive identity, I think the rest of it is there to be very, very good again. Let's see if they play up or down to the opponent in the first couple ODAC games.

H-SC could be interesting. They've got a good jump on the season, but the schedule leaves a lot to be desired. Don't know what to make of Batten (VWU). That looks like how W&L started last year except with weaker opponents. Lot of ties and I suspect the Marlins just aren't all that good. Roanoke looks bad, but that's a lot of close losses to decent teams. After the jump they got last year, 'Noke just hasn't been able to put it together. Lynchburg is doing their thing. The Southwestern loss is a good loss, even though Southwestern isn't getting much love. They are proving to be pretty good, and that was a long road trip. It happens.

Let the ODAC unbalanced mishmash begin!

Quote from: y_jack_lok on September 20, 2026, 07:55:59 PM^^^ I'm always hedging my bets on observations like that. But last season Averett lost to NC Wesleyan 64-12 and this year 27-13. They also lost to Southern VA last year 46-14 vs a 41-34 win this year. So they improved their results against all three year-to-year. I know this is a new season for all those programs, so those comparisons aren't necessarily worth much. But, Averett does have a knew head coach. And I think it's always wise, in any sport, that no matter how good you think you are or how bad you think your opponent is, never underestimate your opponent's desire to win. They might just surprise you. I've seen it happen, as I'm sure you have.

So slightly less terrible than last year's 1-8? I can get behind that. I still think the only ODAC team they beat is Guilford. But who knows? W&L gets them in 2 weeks, so Averett will have the bye week to prepare.

Quote from: y_jack_lok on September 20, 2026, 09:18:42 AMAverett downs Gallaudet 55-19. Last season the Cougars lost that game 39-30 in D.C.. Averett is 2-1. This might be a different Averett team than we have seen lately. ODAC opponents should not take them lightly.

Glad you put the qualifier "might" in there. I think they've just played terrible teams. Southern Virginia and Gallaudet are putrid. There is no way around it. And Averett lost to NC Wes, who lost to Sewanee. 

I think Averett has played 3 marshmallows and still managed to lose to one of them. I suspect they will still be terrible in the ODAC.

Quote from: awadelewis on September 17, 2026, 06:38:25 PMBut many of what I call the "middle managers" of the Confederate Army settled in Sewanee after the war.   The place became one of the centers of the Lost Cause movement.  A large
So... in spite of the protests of my fraternity brothers, friends, and acquaintances from Washington and Lee,  I can seriously make the claim of Sewanee being the "First University of the Confederacy".   That can be viewed as either a good or bad thing.

As a W&L alum, you can have the title. W&L was a tiny school, barely scraping by on President Washington's endowment gift, when the Civil War broke out. Overshadowed by VMI, W&L almost folded when a decent percentage of the student body died as part of the Liberty Hall Volunteers, part of Stonewall's Brigade. The makeup of the company, formed immediately after secession, went from exclusively W&L undergrads and profs to a hodgepodge of Army of Northern Virginia replacements as the war dragged on.

Lee, of course, became President after the surrender and he did, by all reasonable accounts, save the school. He also instituted some change that still reverberate today, including the Honor Code, adding practical courses of study to what had been a purely classical institution, and building Lee Chapel, now University Chapel.

There was good reason to name the school after him following his death. The reverence for Lee and "The Lost Cause" mythology, which was massively propagated by W&L linked scholars is, in my opinion, one of the less savory holdovers from Lee's association with the school.

As a New Jerseyan, even in the late 90s, W&L was a bastion of alternative history to what I had been taught. I had one history professor who absolutely despised the U.S. history I knew, and one who did a much better job of melding the north/south narrative divide.

But really it was the frats that drove home that W&L was different. As a Yankee, there were houses I simply was not welcome in. Of course, you had to also be the "right kind" of southern for those houses, so being a Yank was my disqualifier, but far from the only one. It was quite an interesting experience for those of us not from the south.

No, Sewanee is welcome to the title. W&L is struggling with their history and their alums enough these days, and it has cost the school plenty. I have no love for the Lost Cause, but University Chapel is a lesser place without all the historical plaques and an open view of the Recumbent Lee statue. History is best in context, and Lee Chapel should have had the context added instead of the history removed to the museum.

They can rename every building on campus, they should even rename the school in my opinion, but Lee Chapel was the proper place for history and I don't like what happened to it.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on September 17, 2026, 09:40:08 PM

Quote from: jknezek on September 17, 2026, 12:34:30 PMThe ruins of Liberty Hall Academy still stand on W&L's grounds, just across the street from the soccer fields. But W&L's tenuous claim to its 1749 founding rest on Augusta Academy, which could have been one of several small educational buildings in and around the Shenandoah Valley that may or may not have ties to the later Liberty Hall.

If W&L can claim 1749, maybe Maryville should claim 1802. Reverend Anderson was ordained at age 22 and shortly built a two-story cabin called Union Academy, locally referred to as "Mr. Anderson's Log College". I'm kidding, of course. W&L can claim 1749 and we'll keep 1819.

Anderson was born near Lexington and studied at Liberty Hall before heading south to the frontier. Wouldn't mind stopping by and taking a look at the ruins, if allowed, next time I'm in the area.

"Mr. Anderson's Log College" was relocated from Knoxville to the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend several years ago after finding itself being in the middle of a developed subdivision.

You'd be more than welcome. They are publicly accessible. A pair of walls that have been braced to stay standing. 

https://www.wlu.edu/sociology-and-anthropology-department?utm_source=my

The ruins of Liberty Hall Academy still stand on W&L's grounds, just across the street from the soccer fields. But W&L's tenuous claim to its 1749 founding rest on Augusta Academy, which could have been one of several small educational buildings in and around the Shenandoah Valley that may or may not have ties to the later Liberty Hall.

The ties from Liberty Hall, first recorded in 1773 but not moved to the site of W&L until 1777/1778, are well established. I think the ties back to 1749 are wishful thinking. Augusta Academy was likely no more than some itinerant teaching of property owner's children in various homes to ensure basic math and reading proficiency. The only real tie I've heard of is that a teaching trail exists between people who were at both named institutions, and possibly a gifting of the name between those teachers.

Quote from: SimpleCoach on September 15, 2026, 12:50:47 PM

Quote from: Ejay on September 14, 2026, 08:23:01 PMJust saw that Amer Lukovic received a medical waiver last year after suffering an injury after only 7 games at Rutgers. He's now starting in the MF as a Grad Student and has 3 assists.

Watched highlights of the Rutgers  game v UCLA. Seems like at this point he must be what, 32?

SC.

He was class of 2021 in h.s. So he's on his sixth season of college soccer. D3 player of the year in 2023 I believe? Still going.

Well we enjoyed both games. Both wins. I'll be very surprised if either of those opponents makes the tournament. Lynchburg blew them out, W&L grinded them out.

The goals have to come from somewhere. If you are playing offense by committee you are limited. The offense needs a focal point, a secondary when that one is off the field, and then a committee for third is fine. But someone has to be the sharp end of the stick, the killer in front of goal, and I just didn't see it.

Saw some potential in the freshman, but it's hard to be selfish in your first games, it's hard to be selfish when you aren't the leader. And the focus needs to be a little selfish, and it needs to be ok for him to be selfish in that final third.

The defense looks good despite Maryville's two goals. One came with what I believe was an atypical player grouping right after halftime that was very shaky, and the second was a nice breakaway against the run of play with a minute to go. When the preferred group was on the field, they were solid.

But you can't grind out a season like the game against Covenant. You have to find some offense. We found some in the first half against a completely overmatched Maryville, but they adjusted better at halftime than we did and the offense sputtered. One shot off the post late was really it in the second half despite holding most of the possession for the last 30 minutes.

They look a lot like last year. I think they will take Lynchburg to the wire in the ODAC, but without goals it's going to be hard to be confident in any game.

One thing I didn't like was a lot of jawing at each other at times. It was definitely worse with certain player groupings. One thing I did like was composure on the ball all over the field. Over 180 minutes there were only a few bad giveaways, only a few truly dangerous passes. Most of the play was confident, and I loved the tenacity of most of the players. Lose the ball, chase it down, seems to be the team's ethos.

There is a good team here, but I'm afraid it's still missing a major piece.

Quote from: rmc1982 on September 09, 2026, 09:20:51 AMWhile I agree that for you guys its not the smartest thing in the world to schedule another option team early I disagree that it would be better to schedule "cupcakes" that pad your schedule early just to get wins. Non conference games should be as challenging as possible to toughen your team for the upcoming conference schedule-PLUS they are good at the end of the season should you make the playoffs. It may determine whether or not you get sent to a North Central or a Johns Hopkins to start the playoffs, provided you don't get beaten too badly. We at RMC could end up 0-3 at the end of the first three weeks but we will be much better off having played Dickinson, Johns Hopkins, and Maryville to start our season before ODAC conference play starts instead of beating three "cupcakes" and not proving anything, really, except you beat three teams you should have beaten anyway. The PLUS side of this is just MAYBE we'll make a better showing of ourselves this weekend vs the Blue Jays and maybe beat Maryville and come out of this battle hardened but 1-2. Should we be fortunate enough to make the playoffs then we will get sent on the road but maybe not to one of those top tier schools to start off with. The problem with our conference is that, in the minds of the NCAA committee and alot of the commentators on here especially is that we don't play a tougher non conference schedule as a whole and it hurts us nationally. If we want to gain respectability on a National level we need to play tougher non conference teams. In W&L's case it may make more sense NOT to schedule Triple Option teams, however!

I agree and disagree. I have a problem with a week 1 "tough" team. It just doesn't work with an option team. Too much practice takes away the "great leveling" effect of an odd scheme. Just schedule the ok or worse team. It doesn't have to be a complete cupcake. Doesn't have to be bottom of the USASAC type team, just someone relatively unremarkable. Week 2 or 3? Knock yourself out and play a tough team if you think it will help, but not another option team.

I'm fine with Wittenberg as the opener. They aren't all that good, or at least they weren't last year and they didn't look that good last weekend. But they had no problem stuffing W&L's offense. That level of competition week 1? That's fine. You'll win some, lose some. My problem with the schedule this year is we are in our 4th year with Salisbury, and I'm praying it's the end. If it was a 4 year contract then fine. It was what it was when we desperately needed to find an OOC opponent because the ODAC was/is in flux. But learn from it and don't do it again if it can be avoided. I do realize finding 3 OOC games is a challenge, and I am happy whenever Apprentice is not on the schedule.

And I guess I'll take back my Week 1 comment for Salisbury. If you have to play them, you might as well Week 1. It's not like they are going to get less practice against the option as the season goes on, and then you get teams where the option is a shock in weeks 2 and 3. Didn't help against Witt last year, but that was also on the road.

We will see how Gettysburg goes. Honestly, I refuse to pay for Flo, so I have no idea if W&L is better or worse than they've been the last few years. Senior QB helps, defense is strong. No idea about the rest. But I'm hopeful for a 2-0 start and another competitive ODAC run.

I have no idea if Gettysburg is any good. Seemed like an easy win last weekend, but Juniata hasn't been any good in forever. On the other hand, the Bullets have been putrid for more than a decade, as they haven't won more than 2 games in a season since 2017. Be nice for W&L to get an OOC road win. Last one of those came back in 2023 if you don't count the Bowl games.

The Jackets have held up the top end of the conference with a great run. The consistent quality has been impressive. But I feel like this might be the year someone gets them for the first time in a long time.

Game week for me. Since I refuse to pay for Flo, my ability to watch W&L games is basically gone. But this week one of my son's and I are going to the games at Covenant. Hoping to see the offense get a little more lively. 2-1 is a better start than the last two years, but really need to find someone who can put the ball in the net.

Well it was nice that W&L won their opener for the first time in close to a decade. I can't, for the life of me, understand W&L scheduling. 

You are an option team, mostly. The whole point is that it's a gimmick that teams don't get to practice against. 1) Scheduling another option team, Salisbury, defeats the whole purpose.

2) You know the hardest games will be those with teams with extra practice time. You can't do anything about when teams have bye weeks, but for the love of all that is holy, schedule a genuinely bad team for week 1. Because they get a ton of extra practice before the game, it's brutally hard for the gimmick to work.

I don't care about SOS. You have to make the playoffs for that to matter, and starting 0-1 in the ODAC is a tough mountain to climb. Either win the conference at that point, or you are basically done with 2 losses anyway.

The dumbest of all? Let's combine both issues. Until this year we opened 3 straight years with Salisbury who is both very good, and a team whose defense plays against the option every day in practice. It is one of the most consistently idiotic things I've seen the athletic department do.

This year we eeked past a Wittenberg team that was not good last year and probably won't be great this year. But with lots of practice they had no problems throttling our offense.

We just need to be smarter. Schedule someone soft week 1. And drop Salisbury from the schedule! Hopefully this 4th game is the last in a series we've lost by 3 scores each of the last 3 years.

Quote from: The Third Division on September 05, 2026, 12:26:31 AMAll eyes on the homies from Carlisle, Pennsylvania to tell Davidson to suck my Dickinson College!!!

He had to have been high on something when this amalgamation of random words came off the keyboard.

Or am I missing some deeper meaning?

Quote from: Another Mom on September 02, 2026, 07:34:41 AMI watched the W&L v Lynchburg game last night. W&L looked good -- for a decent amount of time they looked like the better team. However still struggled to convert their chances into a goal. End score was 0-1, Lynchburg.

My takeaway as well. Defense is elite, offense is anemic. Hate playing Lynchburg game 1 non-conference. Just irritating.

Hmm.... that's a tough first line item for me. My daughter (current h.s. junior) is very interested in Brandeis while her brother (current h.s. freshman) is very interested in the Coast Guard Academy! I'm going to have to root for the Coasties. A) always pull for an underdog in a 50/50 situation, B) always pull for a service academy if it's even close. Sorry Owls... though I think you'll come out on top....

Hiram College showing up in an article that they probably weren't thrilled about. Does get more positive at the end, and not much here we don't already know about stress on smaller colleges, but the parade of news continues:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-31/us-colleges-are-relying-on-endowment-cash-just-to-get-by